


A Turn of Events

by Sweety_Bird



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Action, Angst, Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-27 14:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweety_Bird/pseuds/Sweety_Bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my first time uploading here, so I apologize for any mistakes. </p>
<p>This was written for a contest; I put a lot of time and effort into this and I like the way it turned out! Who doesn't love a little Stony? </p>
<p>The Avengers are out to stop A.I.M., but things are quickly going to change from bad to worse!</p>
<p>((Pretty sure I didn't win xP oh well))</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Turn of Events

This was all too familiar. The sounds of battle, the screams of civilians, the haze of smoke and blood on the battlefield. It seemed like only yesterday that the Avengers were up against the Chitauri, though it had really been a year. Time flew quickly when people were trying to blow you up. 

This time they were dealing with A.I.M., a group of super-intelligent scientists who wanted to claim the world for their own. They had assembled a huge army of robots, and ironically, were attempting to take New York. Why did they always start with the big cities, Steve wondered. Why not start by easily taking down quiet off-the-radar towns so that they held many places before going after the big places like Manhattan? Well, he supposed it didn't matter- it made their job easier. More casualties, which was terrible of course, but less damage overall. 

Captain America was charging down the street, whipping around and slamming his signature shield into an approaching robot and knocking it several yard away. There were robots all over the place; on the streets, in the air. He couldn't help but feel a small bit of satisfaction every time he hit one of them- he good and truly hated this technology. All of this modern garbage was so different from what he knew, and even though he'd learned how to use some of it, he deep down couldn't stand how different it all was. And this, this would have never happened back in his day. Humans did things themselves with hard working soldiers, not senseless machines.

" _On your six, Cap,_ " came Tony's voice in his ear; he turned and threw his shield, slicing a robot completely in half before it arced around and slid right back onto his arm. " _Have I ever told you how great your ass looks in that costume?_ " The billionaire went on, being unprofessional as usual. The Captain paused briefly to lift his gaze skyward, wondering just where the man was looking at him from. "Yes, you've told me many times. Focus, IronMan," he said as he finally saw a blur of red and gold streak past. There was a familiar screeching sound, and then two high powered repulsor blasts ripped through a pair of approaching drones. They were both badly mutilated by the blast, and quickly fell smoking from the sky. 

" _I'm trying to focus babe, but you aren't making it easy for me,_ " Tony replied defensively as he cut a corner and flew down another street, out of Steve's sight. The Captain rolled his eyes and jumped back into battle, attempting to forget about the fact that his randy boyfriend could be watching him at any time. Steve was always self-conscious, but especially so around Tony. The man just had no shame in him. It was a well known fact among the Avengers that Tony and Steve were dating. It had seemed like they hated each other within moments of meeting one another- they were polar opposites, after all. But Bruce had taken one look at them and predicted they would be a couple within the month, and it had happened. Maybe it had something to do with Steve walking into his room one night, and upon turning on the lights finding Tony on his bed stark naked (and he had used that line too, _Stark_ naked). At first, the Captain had been mortified. Men and men.. it just wasn't done in his day. But Tony had shown him the world, what was accepted now, and he eventually relented. Getting to know the philanthropist was an interesting experience in itself. For one thing, his initial impression had been way off. There were little things he did, whether he realized it or not, that just showed how wrong people were about him. He had feelings just like everyone else, and often times was covering up his emotions when he made a sarcastic remark or said something vain. When he realized just how fragile Tony's emotions were, Steve immediately was determined not to let the little comments get to him. He knew the other man didn't mean it, that it was just making up for his inability to express his emotions.

Besides just hiding his true feelings, Tony was quirky in the cutest ways (and yes, Steve found it to be cute, much to Tony's annoyance). Every now and then he would stumble upon Tony in the hallway, fixing a robot right then and there no matter what he had been in the middle of doing. He treated his robots like people, something Steve hadn't understood until later when he realized just how human-like the little things were. Sometimes when Tony thought no one was watching, he would hum under his breath while he worked. Steve had never been caught when listening to Tony hum, and he hoped he never would, seeing how the engineer would probably become flustered and never do it again. Then there were the occasions when Steve would be late coming to bed, whether due to a meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. or another obligation, and he would find Tony with a pillow hugged tightly to his chest. Neither one of them liked to admit that they couldn't sleep in an empty bed anymore. It wasn't about sex either- they provided each other warmth and comfort. Someone to hold on to when the nightmares wouldn't stop. They both whimpered in their sleep sometimes, but neither told the other that they did so. It was an understanding. 

Regardless of their initial hate, Tony and Steve had come together quickly and begun dating soon after. Natasha was the first to figure it out (of course), and at that point they decided to make it known with the others instead of waiting for the Black Widow to blackmail them with it. Fury had a suspicion, but besides that didn't know of their relationship. The tabloids never figured it out, because it wasn't all that strange to see Captain America and IronMan together in public. For Steve's sake, they didn't kiss in public. Even if he accepted the fact that yes, they were both men, he still wasn't completely comfortable. Sympathetically Tony had agreed to take it slow, though he had pretended to complain about it (and Steve could tell he was pretending, he could always see it in Tony's eyes when he wasn't telling the truth or something was wrong). Things just came easy between them; their arguments always seemed silly after an hour or two, nothing was ever rushed or insincere. It felt right.

Steve's walk down memory lane was interrupted as the high-pitched whine of a gun reached his ears. Instinctively he threw his shield up in front of himself, deflecting the bullets back at the robot and stunning it enough for him to take off its head with a whack from the shield. Panting lightly, he lifted a hand to his ear out of habit and asked, "Anyone know how many more of these are left?" There was some silence for a moment before someone finally answered him. "It looks like they're bringing in reinforcements- I can see a couple armored trucks driving into the city from my perch," Hawkeye responded, his voice filtering out as he stopped to shoot another arrow. The Captain turned in the direction that had been indicated, making out a couple vehicles rolling in. They couldn't hold the city forever against these robots. "Does anyone have any ideas?" He asked, ducking as a metallic arm shot past his face. He hooked his leg under the drone's and tripped it, using the shield to sever its head from its body. 

" _I've been working on an EMP that'll knock out anything that doesn't have my technology in it. I need something to magnify the range, then it'll work across the whole city,_ " Tony put in, his voice slightly distorted as he shot repulsor blasts in the middle of his sentence. "Good. Stark, I'm coming with you. Hawkeye, cover Widow from the sky and keep the flight drones off her while she holds the ground forces back. Thor, take the Hulk and try to decommission those trucks before they let out the reinforcements. If we can hold them at bay for a little longer, IronMan can shut them down," he commanded,  receiving an assortment of affirmatives in response. It wasn't long before an angry roar told him that Hulk had reached the armored vehicles. "Tony, how do we magnify your device?" Captain America asked, taking down the occasional robot as he waited for the man to reach him. A familiar metal suit flew towards him and landed, the plates on the shoulders lifting to fire a series of small rockets at a squadron of approaching drones. The only one that survived quickly fell after taking a shield to the face. 

The face mask on the suit lifted up, revealing Tony's face. His brow was furrowed slightly, though he looked thoughtful. "I need some sort of amplifier- something that will broadcast the signal for me. Like a satellite," he explained, trying to dumb it down for Steve, who actually appreciated it instead of feeling insulted. Before replying, he jumped to one side of the suited man and threw his shield like a frisbee, taking down another robot before catching it and turning back. "Would a radio station antenna work?" He asked breathlessly, sweating beneath the costume. It was easy to get overheated in there, but there was nothing for it. 

Tony looked like he was about to say something snide, then stopped, his eyes widening slightly. "Cap, you're a genius! I knew there was a reason I loved you," he said, slipping the face mask back down in order to access a digital map of the city. In the meantime, Steve had rolled his eyes again and turned to fend off the attacking robots while Tony did whatever it was he was doing. 

" _Jarvis, show me the nearest radio station and its wave range. I need one that extends across all of Manhattan,_ " he ordered, his eyes scanning the screen as little red dots all over began to disappear, not reaching the standards of his search. When the computer AI finally finished scanning, there were three red dots left, each marking a station building that broadcasted to the whole city. The closest was a few blocks away- they could be there in no time. " _C'mon Steve, I found one. Get ready to fly,_ " Tony said, turning around and hooking an arm around Captain America's waist. He was mildly startled, but managed not to lash out and instead held on as they shot into the air. He had flown with Tony before, though it had been less rough and a touch more romantic than this. "You know what you're doing?" Steve asked, holding on tight as they flew over the city. He could hear the man in the suit snort, and could almost see him rolling his eyes even though his face was hidden. " _Don't I always?_ " He retorted.

The Captain's answer was drowned out as they landed with a metallic clank on the roof of the radio station. " _Cover me,_ " Tony said as he made his way over to a little control box on the edge of the large antenna tower, which extended about fifty feet into the sky. With a nod, Steve turned and began watching for attackers while Tony opened the panel and got to work. Every now and then Steve glanced over his shoulder to check his progress, but couldn't even begin to fathom what was happening. There was a mess of wires between a control panel on Tony's arm, and the box on the tower. He seemed to know what he was doing though, so he left the man to it. As a drone wheeled overhead to shoot the billionaire, he sprang up and blocked him with his shield, then threw it to knock the robot out of the sky before catching the disk again. Tony was so wrapped up in what he was doing, he didn't even notice. 

" _I've got it!_ " Tony exclaimed, making the Captain turn around. His face mask was down to run through codes that scrolled rapidly down the screen, calibrating and adjusting frequencies so that the antenna would actually broadcast the signal. "Turn it on," Captain America said, rushing to his side as IronMam obeyed. There was no noticeable noise or shift, but all around them robots fell- from the sky, from buildings, on the ground. They'd done it. Now they just had to collect the evil hazmat-wearing masterminds behind this. 

"Will they stay shut down?" Steve asked as they flew through the air, towards the center of the city where the scientists had been operating from. " _They should, for an hour at least. By then we'll have these guys rounded up anyway,_ " Tony replied dismissively, flying lower before kicking his reverse thrusters into gear to slow them down. About a foot off the ground, he dropped his cargo, who landed in a crouch before jumping up and jogging towards the circle of armored cars with A.I.M. in bold letters on the side. They of course were prepared and began firing, but the Captain pressed on, ducking behind his shield for cover before he was among them. At close range, he was a fighting machine; one staggered back after taking a shield to the jaw, another fell as he was kicked in the knees, falling unconscious as his head connected to Steve's knee. He seemed to know exactly when and where they would shoot at him, because he was always ready with his shield to deflect it or knock a gun out of their hands. 

Somewhere in the throng of yellow hazmat suits, he could hear Tony battling with him, light flashing as blue repulsor blasts were fired and scientists were sent flying. On the outskirts a familiar pistol could be heard going off, and every now and then one of them fell randomly with an arrow sticking out of them. Thor and the Hulk still sounded distant, probably still dealing with the scientists who had brought the reinforcements. 

Most of the Advanced Idea Mechanics members were fleeing or being knocked out when above them on an electronic billboard, the last face Steve wanted to see appeared. "Very good job Avengers," laughed a man with a very scarred face and a monocle. He was bald, and wore a green and gold cloak. Baron von Strucker, of course he was behind this. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person, I had other obligations," he went on, every bit the narcissistic ass that every supervillian was. "But, don't think that I've forgotten about you! I even left you a little gift. I'll be seeing you later.. or not," he said deviously, and the screen went black again. That was when a beeping started, emanating from the trucks not too far away. Steve had managed to fight his way away from them, but Tony was standing right between them. Realizing what was happening, the Captain only had a few precious seconds to crouch and duck behind his shield before the bombs went off. 

Captain America was sent flying back a few feet, showing just how strong the bombs had been. A smoldering wreck was all that remained of the vehicles, charred bodies slumped on the ground all over the place. He had even killed some of his own men! Disgusted, Steve got up and looked around to see if his team was alright. He slowly got a sinking feeling when the realization that Tony had been standing there hit him, his heart leaping up into his throat. No.. the armor could withstand that, surely? And he would've flown away, right? Pivoting, he froze as a blackened piece of red metal caught his eye. No.. He dashed forward, his eyes searching the road frantically for Tony. When he finally saw him, a strangled cry of dismay escaped him.

The billionaire was flat on his back, parts of his suit missing- they'd been blown completely off. His skin underneath was burned, though he seemed to be retaining all of his limbs. Steve sprinted to him and slid to his side on his knees, his shield clattering to the ground as he released it. This couldn't be happening, Tony couldn't be dying, couldn't be dead, not the invincible armored IronMan. And yet, his reactor was a dull shade of gray, giving off no light at all. Reaching up, Steve ripped the face mask off his suit and tilted Tony's chin up without hesitation, inhaling deeply before pressing his lips to the billionaire's to give him air. He repeated the process two more times, unable to tell if it was working or not because of the armor blocking his chest. Steve turned his head to one side and put his ear close to Tony's nose, his breath catching as he heard no intake of breath, no hot air on his ear to indicate that oxygen was being taken in and put out by the man on the ground. 

Tears streamed openly down the Captain's face, who stared down at his lover in dismay. Tony was his one safe thing in this world, his anchor. No matter how much things had changed and would continue to change, Tony was always Tony. Sarcastic, vain, sensitive (even when he pretended not to be). He couldn't imagine living without him, couldn't bear the thought of a cold and empty bed every night. Tony was his light, and much like the arc reactor, it had been snuffed out. Folding his arms on top of Tony's metal chest and tucking his head into them, Steve cried shamelessly. His shoulders shook, but for once he didn't give a damn as to who was watching or what they thought. Tony, his Tony, was gone. For the second time in his life, the person he loved had been ripped away from him. He should've died with Tony, should've been right there with him so they could have gone out together. But fate was cruel, and here he was, sobbing on top of the man's lifeless chest. "I l-love you Tony," he whispered brokenly. 

A sudden cough made Steve freeze, going stock-still as a series of coughs and a gasp for breath cut through his crying. It couldn't be.. he was suddenly blinded as the arc reactor blinked to life. Sitting up, the Captain watched with blurred vision as Tony's eyes snapped open, another cough escaping him. "Tony?" He breathed, scarcely able to believe it. Was this really happening? The man on the ground lifted his gaze to look at Steve, still panting slightly from the effort of regaining consciousness. "Did you mean it, Steve?" He asked randomly, startling the overjoyed Captain. Did he mean what? Tony must've sensed his confusion, because he elaborated. "You said I love you. Did you mean it?" He repeated, and Steve could see the slight note of fear in his eyes. He understood that the man was afraid of commitment, and also afraid of rejection at the same time. It was something he was used to dealing with when it came to Tony, who would sometimes say things to try and push Steve away. Of course, when it didn't work, he always noted the relief that Tony tried to hide as he apologized for the rude things he had said.

"Of course I meant it. I love you, Tony," Steve said a little breathlessly, putting a hand on the side of his face. Through the glove he could feel his stubbly beard, something he had surprisingly found attractive instead of repulsive. It was very well-kept, unlike some facial hair the Captain had seen recently. 

"Marry me," Tony blurted without thinking, actually mirroring Steve's surprise with some of his own. That had come out of nowhere, though in reality it was actually something he'd been thinking about for a long time. Tony had a lot of rejection issues, what with his father never loving him, Pepper leaving him after she realized she couldn't be IronMan's terrified girlfriend, Obadiah turning on him and trying to kill him. The tabloids constantly made him out to be a playboy extraordinaire, making it seem like every woman he ever shook hands with ended up in his bed the next morning. Granted, he had had his fair share of one night stands, but he wasn't _that_ disgusting. And of course, the one night stands did terrible things to his self-esteem. It reminded him how he couldn't keep a relationship, how he was constantly forced to fill the emptiness in his life with meaningless sex. And then there was the drinking. He hated to think about things, to remember his horrible experiences in life, to deal with his feelings. It was so easy to bottle up his feelings, which generally ended up being an alcoholic bottle. That didn't help his self-esteem either. He would get drunk out of his mind and then loathe himself silently in the dark, unable to remember why he had started drinking but knowing it was for a cowardly reason anyway. And yet, he couldn't stop. It was an endless cycle that had only ever been broken when Steve came into his life. Steve, the goody two shoes who was able to make him put the bottle down, who he could talk to without worrying about what the other man thought, who would comfort him and understood his woes. Steve understood him like no one else did.

So, with these subconscious thoughts drifting around, he had decided that he wanted to marry Steve. It didn't matter that the prospect of a commitment scared him, because Steve was always there when he got scared. And it would be worth it, for Captain America. His childhood hero. He loved him so much, that it needed to be official. 

Steve was shocked into silence. He hadn't even been thinking about marriage, not even before the fight began. It wasn't because he didn't want to marry Tony- he was actually afraid of scaring the man off. He was well aware of Tony's fear to commitment, and that was part of the reason he had wanted to take things slow. For him, it didn't matter if they were legally together or not. As long as they were still together at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Naturally this request was startling, because it was a big move on Tony's part. He was willing to spend the rest of his life with Steve, to give up the womanizing and the endless stream of girls just to call this man his husband. He wouldn't have given himself to just anyone, Cap realized, so Tony must really love him. It was an admission the billionaire always had trouble with, and yet here they were. Life was so short; neither of them wanted to take the other for granted when they could easily die one day, just like Tony almost had. It was time they stopped pretending.

"Yes," Steve said quietly, almost so quiet that Tony didn't hear him. "Yes, I'll marry you," he murmured, watching the man's face light up with happiness. Before he could say anything, Steve had him in a tight embrace, his lips pressed to Tony's passionately. It might as well have been their first kiss, for all the volumes it spoke. Steve really was agreeing to marry him- he was kissing him in public. They pulled back after a moment, though their forehead were touching as they panted lightly, their breaths mixing. "I love you Steve, I only want to spend my life with you," Tony said, their lips nearly touching as he spoke. He could feel the Captain's smile just from their proximity. Slowly so as not to injure the man in the suit any further, Steve slowly eased them both up, helping Tony to stand and draping his metal arm across his broad shoulders to support him. "We can talk about it on the way to the hospital," he said, pressing a quick kiss to Tony's cheek before he assisted him in walking towards an ambulance that was nearby. 

They were both silent for a little bit before Tony finally broke that silence. "Hey, Steve?" He asked, glancing across at him. "Mm?" Was his reply, meeting his gaze for a brief second before returning it to their destination. "I get to be the husband," Tony said with a shit-eating grin, his signature expression. He gasped as without warning Steve swept his legs out from under him, suddenly holding Tony bridal style. There was a grin of his own on his face as he continued walking to the ambulance. "No you don't."


End file.
